Weird & Neglected Gallery

Wherever we are, if there is a dock nearby, we'll walk it, usually with camera in hand! We just love checking out the boats, the sights, the sounds, the smells, the local flora and fauna so to speak. We enjoy meeting people in the 'hood and learning 'who is who in the zoo'! We are always trying to gather more information about boating in general, and sailing in particular, and there is no better way than dock walking to find out if that double ended main-sheet design you were planning is really viable or whether the convenience and simplicity benefits of a stem tacked asymmetric spinnaker outweighs the versatility of a pole hoisted symmetric one?  

On our various strolls around we have seen and recorded many sights, some which might be considered fit for publication, others....not so much, but one thing that we do often see and feel to be worthy of   publication are vessels that might accurately be described as weird and/or neglected. 

Now, we do realise that one man's weird and neglected is another man's normal and acceptable so the contents of this post should be viewed accordingly, but we are always interested by unusual vessel features and configurations and saddened by neglected and abandoned boats. The sight of moss and mold, piles of bird guano, peeling varnish, split and rotted canvas, frayed rigging, cracked and broken port lights and corroded hardware always depresses us. Wouldn't it be interesting to discover how they got to be where they are? A dream abandoned,  a priority changed after job or family loss, a change in circumstances, an underfunded project, a toy once worshiped now overshadowed by new priorities, whatever the reason there are literally thousands of boats languishing in marinas and at moorings around the country. Here are a few weird and neglected vessels we thought were worthy of note, we will add to them from time to time as appropriate.

We called this one 'Bug Boat' as it evokes images of  one....a grasshopper or Praying Mantis perhaps? The owner must agree because the 'eyes' are purely cosmetic, serving only to enhance the entomological air!

The boat in the next two photos really surprised us. Why would anyone pay significant monthly slip fees for a vessel that receives no attention?

What was once some deferred maintenance that could have been dealt with at the slip with a little elbow grease is now a yard job and major refit.

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The next two shots show a sailboat rig that must surely be the epitome of 'weird'....perhaps the boat name tells the story?

With the mast on a frame over the cockpit, a single, monster self-tacking sail on a furler and a sort of boom/gin pole arrangement to stabilise the mast at the stern must give this puppy some extraordinary handling characteristics.

This next one certainly isn't neglected and, technically, isn't weird either but the yellow, green, white and red colour scheme secured a spot for it in the post!

Is it a junkamaran or a catamajunk? Either way, definitely weird!

Its been a loooong time since this satin was white!

Another badly neglected monohull. Shame. Note the current  (as of photo date) registration decal.

We called this one the 'Maritime Sandford & Son'.....if we don't have it, you don't need it!

The next few pics show the fate of a couple of  small keel boats, abandoned in their slips here in Marina Bay. Sad.

Mussels anyone......from the bottom growth it's clear this one had been sitting around for years!

It's amazing what can be done in half an hour with a 'Sawzall' and some elbow grease!

Next stop the landfill....

December 2012, L'Hydroptere, the Worlds Fastest Trimaran (51 Kts) stopped by at our marina. The thing is huge.

Hydroptere again and........

...........again. Definitely a weird beast and wicked fast. Go to the links below to see it in action. Amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgNtPETcta4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNo7mLER0xA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2boayPZ3GbE

5-19-13, We were walking along the Bay Trail near our Marina when we saw this old Fairliner cabin cruiser sitting on the beach. Evidently it had drifted ashore after breaking free from its mooring or perhaps breaking down on the water. By pure chance it had landed on the only rock free piece of the shoreline for miles! Another shot below.

5-19-13, Surprisingly the damage appeared to be minimal. There were temporary mooring lines attached indicating an attempt to stabilise it, possibly  with a view to a refloating attempt.












2-11-14, Interesting prototype/test bed for a new wind powered ferry design being developed by Wind+Wing Technologies.

2-12-14, Recently arrived at Marina Bay is WANDA a beautiful 90 foot classic 1922 wooden motor yacht from the Gatsby Era. Extensively restored and up for sale at a cool $795K.

2-12-14, Another view of WANDA. To think, we moan about the time we spend on our teak finishing. Can only imagine what the cost of maintenance and general upkeep of this puppy must be!

USCG Auxiliary

Today we had a successful courtesy vessel inspection from the local branch of the USCG Auxiliary. We have always been fans of keeping a current inspection decal on our boat. The inspection is a free, quick and relatively low stress process, and that little sticker can significantly ease the pain of a full-on USCG boarding, should it happen. 

Circe had not been 'stickered' since 1999, during the tenure of her original owner. Her second owner hadn't bothered to have an inspection during the time he had her but we wanted to give ourselves the best chance of a smooth process if the Coasties decide to visit us while we are out on the water. With all the current problems in the World, and the potential for terrorist activities against high value targets like the oil tanker and container terminals  in the San Francisco Bay Area, USCG boardings of recreational boats have understandably increased. We wanted to make sure we did all we could to minimise our 'exposure' should we receive a visit.

Here is  the old decal (top) with annual renewal stickers for 1998 and 1999.  Evidently nobody was interested to follow up with inspections in subsequent years. As the Coasties usually come up on the port side of their victims, having the sticker in a prominent location that is easily visible from the port quarter is preferable. Circe's decals are on the port side of the mast, just above the boom.

Circe is the first USCG Documented vessel we have owned so we were interested to see what was different to our previous State Registered vessels. The answer was not much, with one exception.......verification of the document authenticity. We learned that there is a heat sensitive seal on all original Certificates of Documentation.

Here is the original Certificate of Documentation. Note the pink dot on the on the top right corner. 

Here it is in close up. We learned that the pink ink is thermally sensitive and reacts to body heat.

A few seconds between finger and thumb and............

.......presto, magico, the pink dot has disappeared. Cute huh!

In these days of high definition laser printers, a certificate can easily be copied and be visually indistinguishable from the original, so the thermal seal is a reliable way to check validity. If the original certificate isn't on board for inspection it is an automatic infraction and ticket! Apart from that interesting variation on the Certificate of Documentation the basic inspection is exactly the same as for a State Registered vessel under 39.5 feet LOA. Here is a link to a self-inspection guide using the actual  USCG Auxiliary form.

 http://forms.cgaux.org/archive/a7012.pdf

So, off we go into the wide blue yonder, secure in the knowledge that we have done as much as we can to ensure a stress free experience if the Coasties come calling!